In Which Year Is Vikings: Valhalla Set?
Vikings: Valhalla is a sequel to the original show, but when is it set — and which historical events does it cover?
The original Vikings TV show begins its story in the year 793 AD and ends in 816 AD seasons later. We won’t go into detail about just how it messed up the real world’s timeline, throwing the events of the mid-9th century right into the middle there.
Instead, we’re going to answer a much more important question: how does it tie with Vikings: Valhalla, the ongoing sequel, and when is the latter set?
Vikings and Valhalla Mark the Same Age
In the real world, the so-called Viking Age lasted from 800 until 1050 AD; that’s why the original TV show began its story just a few years earlier, setting up the many historical events that would follow. Vikings: Valhalla also takes place in the Viking Age, but while the original series opened it, the sequel sets up its last decades.
Vikings: Valhalla starts in 1022 AD, just over two centuries after the finale of Vikings. In this sense, Valhalla is as much of a sequel as House of the Dragon is a prequel to Game of Thrones: while connected historically, the two shows don’t share their characters, dynamics, or even eras, and the prominent events of one series are but legends of the past in the other one.
When Will Vikings: Valhalla End?
Unfortunately for fans, the sequel show has already ended with Season 3. From the in-world timeline standpoint, Vikings: Valhalla ended around 1030 or 1033 AD, a decade after its premiere’s events. While the showrunners assured the audience they made the decision based on narrative factors, few believe that was the case.
Judging by the original TV show’s approach — beginning shortly before the start of the Viking Age and showing its first few years — we’ve always assumed that Valhalla would mirror it by starting before the end of the era (which it did) and lasting a few years into the next one (which it didn’t). This would’ve allowed the sequel to elegantly conclude the tale of this unique Age.
Seeing how the decision to cancel Viking: Valhalla came from Netflix first, not the showrunners, many claim it was the streamer’s choice, and the original intent was to keep going. Valhalla still had a quarter of a century to cover before it would’ve reached the Viking Age’s end.